Background: Nasal esketamine (ESK) is an antidepressant medication prescribed to people with treatment-resistantdepression and can provide rapid symptom improvement. Due to potential side effects such asdissociation, ESK is always administered in a healthcare facility and monitoring is performed for at least60 minutes. To address individual needs and ensure a more comprehensive person-centred care forpatients treated with ESK, it is important to understand patients' experiences of the prerequisites, careenvironment, person-centred processes and outcomes.
Aim: This study aims to explore patient experiences during treatment with ESK from a person-centredframework.MethodsTwenty patients over the age of 18 who had received ESK in a psychiatric out-patients clinic in Sweden in a series of at least eight treatments were interviewed. The participants were 9 men and 11 women,mean age 46. The interviews were analysed using an abductive approach and thematic analysis. The analysis was based on McCormack and McCance's four constructs in the person-centred framework.
Results: Based on the four constructs, the results found that prerequisites included meeting competent andengaged healthcare professionals and being treated with respect. The care environment encompassedbeing comfortable, having a personal sphere and adapting care to individual needs during the treatment with ESK. The person-centred process included being seen as unique, supported, and being involved inone´s care. Expected outcomes were expressed as feeling safely cared for and achieving desiredtreatment outcome of ESK.
Conclusion: Patients highlighted the importance of establishing good relationships with competent and engagedhealthcare professionals. A supportive care environment during treatment with ESK was emphasized,focusing on organizational aspects such as continuity and flexibility as well as a physical setting enabling a personal sphere. The study supports the importance of working from a person-centred approach,seeing the patient as a participating and a unique person. Person-centred care fosters feelings of being safely cared for, contributing to the desired outcome of ESK treatment.